Infield: Jim Thome (1991- ) is the Harmon Killebrew of his generation. Big guy, came up as a third baseman but got shifted to first for defensive reasons, hit a ton of home runs and drew enough walks to more than compensate for a mediocre batting average (in fact, his career on-base percentage is over .400). He is about to become the eight person in history to reach 600 home runs, and the ninth is still a long, long way off. We are going to keep Thome at third base. He was a bad fielder there, but not like Pedro Guerrero bad, and this is the alignment that optimizes our offense. Thome at third opens up first base for Jason Thompson (1976-86), who was a very fine player for Detroit and Pittsburgh – a .260 hitter who drew 80-100 walks a year and hit 20-25 home runs. Shortstop (and poetry muse) Joe Tinker (1902-16) was a slick shortstop and the defensive anchor of the great deadball Cubs teams that won four pennants and two World Series championships between 1906-10. He was a great hit-and-run man, and he famously batted .350 against Christy Mathewson over the course of his career. Second baseman Johnny Temple (1952-64) was a slap hitter who batted .284 and walked almost twice as often as he struck out. He was a feisty guy, and after his playing days he served as a coach with Cincinnati until he was let go following a bloody fistfight with another of the team’s coaches.
Outfield: Center fielder Jose Tartabull (1962-70) was the exact opposite of his son, Danny. Jose was a little speedy guy with no power – as in, 2 home runs in 2,000 plate appearances, and 83 percent of his career hits for singles. Left fielder Jack Tobin (1914-27) grew up in St. Louis and spent almost his entire career in his home town, with the Federal League’s St. Louis Terriers and then the AL’s Browns. He was a leadoff hitter, a .300 batter and a guy with some gap power and some speed. Right fielder Jerry Turner (1974-83) was a rather nondescript player for the Padres. He wasn’t a bad player, but playing for San Diego in the 1970s, he didn’t get noticed much.
Catcher: Joe Torre (1960-77) was one of the best-hitting catchers of all time. His defense wasn’t great, which is why he was moved to third base and then first base, but he caught 900 games, which is more than he played at any other position. He was a .300 hitter (well, .297) with power.
Rotation: Jeff Tesreau (1912-18) had one of the best spitballs in baseball, and he rode it to a 115-72 record and a 2.43 ERA, allowing just 7 hits per 9 innings pitched. He quit the game in mid-career in a spat with manager John McGraw – Tesreau was offended that McGraw wanted him to provide details on the after-hours partying habits of his teammates – and worked briefly as a steelworker before becoming head coach at Dartmouth. Jesse Tannehill (1894-1911) was a lefty with a slow, looping curveball that induced a lot of ground balls. He won 197 games and, as a bonus, was a good enough athlete to be used as a pinch-hitter and even a pinch-runner. Lefty John Tudor (1979-90) was a devastating pitcher when he could stay healthy. He won 117 games with a career winning percentage of .619. He had 10 shutouts in 1985 (one of them a 10-inning 1-0 victory over Doc Gooden in the heat of the pennant race), making him the last pitcher to hit double-digits in shutouts for a season. (In addition to his various arm injuries, Tudor sustained a broken leg in 1987 while trying to break the fall of an opposing catcher who slid into the Cardinals dugout while chasing a foul pop.) Jack Taylor (1898-1907) won 152 games for the Cardinals and Cubs, and in 1902 he led the National League in ERA. Between 1901-06 he threw complete games in 188 consecutive starts. Be a while before anyone tries that again, hey? Jim Tobin (1937-45) went 105-112, mostly for the Pirates and Braves, making this a rare “initial team” with five 100-victory guys in the rotation. In 1944 he pitched two no-hitters, one of them shortened to five innings by darkness in the second game of an afternoon doubleheader. (In another game that same year, Cincinnati’s Clyde Shoun no-hit the Braves. It would have been a perfect game, except Shoun walked Tobin.) His nickname was “Abba Dabba,” for reasons that are probably best left to the memories of those who were there at the time.
Bullpen: Jim Turner (1937-45) won 200 games in the minors, then led the National League in ERA as a 33-year-old rookie. After a few more years as a starter, he had a few good years pitching out of the Yankees’ pen during World War II. He’ll start out as the JT closer. Jay (“They Call Me Mister”) Tibbs (1984-90) had a few good years while bouncing around four teams. Julian Tavarez (1993- ) is a durable swingman with a nasty temper who has the reputation for head-hunting. Jeff (Chewin’) Tabaka (1994-2001) was a solid lefty who changed teams every year. Junior Thompson (1939-47) was a good pitcher whose career was interrupted in his prime by three years in the Navy during World War II. Jack Taylor (1891-99), known as “Brewery Jack” (hmmm … wonder why), was primarily a starting pitcher, but not quite good enough to crack the rotation here, so he will be a long reliever and can fill in when Tudor (or anyone else) gets hurt. John Tsitouris (1957-68) had a few good years.
Bench: Jim Thorpe (1913-19), considered to be one of the greatest athletic specimens of all time, will certainly get some playing time in the outfield, and as part of a promotion, kids will get to race him around the bases during seventh-inning stretch. (Thorpe won the pentathlon and the decathlon at the 1912 Olympics, but was stripped of his medals when it was found out that he had played low-level professional baseball, thus nullifying his amateur status.) Jim Tabor (1938-47) was a decent enough third baseman, but he won’t be playing much here – he can’t match Thome or Torre with the stick, and while we could use a defensive sub at the hot corner, Tabor wasn’t exactly Aurelio Rodriguez with the leather. Utility infielder Jerry Terrell (1973-80) will most likely pick up some of that defensive work at third. Second baseman Jeff Treadway (1987-95) was a good contact hitter who could bat .300 in a good season. Backup catcher Joe Tipton (1948-54) was a reserve on the Indians championship team in 1948. (He’ll hold down the job unless Jake Taylor’s knees get better.)
Manager: Jim Tracy had some success with the Dodgers. He can’t really be blamed for failing to win in Pittsburgh, but he did a heck of a job after taking over the Rockies at midseason in 2009. He’ll be assisted by Jeff Torborg. (The managerial job was offered to Torre, but he said he’d rather just play at this point. Tinker was a little bit pissed off that it didn’t get offered to him.)
Outfield: Center fielder Jose Tartabull (1962-70) was the exact opposite of his son, Danny. Jose was a little speedy guy with no power – as in, 2 home runs in 2,000 plate appearances, and 83 percent of his career hits for singles. Left fielder Jack Tobin (1914-27) grew up in St. Louis and spent almost his entire career in his home town, with the Federal League’s St. Louis Terriers and then the AL’s Browns. He was a leadoff hitter, a .300 batter and a guy with some gap power and some speed. Right fielder Jerry Turner (1974-83) was a rather nondescript player for the Padres. He wasn’t a bad player, but playing for San Diego in the 1970s, he didn’t get noticed much.
Catcher: Joe Torre (1960-77) was one of the best-hitting catchers of all time. His defense wasn’t great, which is why he was moved to third base and then first base, but he caught 900 games, which is more than he played at any other position. He was a .300 hitter (well, .297) with power.
Rotation: Jeff Tesreau (1912-18) had one of the best spitballs in baseball, and he rode it to a 115-72 record and a 2.43 ERA, allowing just 7 hits per 9 innings pitched. He quit the game in mid-career in a spat with manager John McGraw – Tesreau was offended that McGraw wanted him to provide details on the after-hours partying habits of his teammates – and worked briefly as a steelworker before becoming head coach at Dartmouth. Jesse Tannehill (1894-1911) was a lefty with a slow, looping curveball that induced a lot of ground balls. He won 197 games and, as a bonus, was a good enough athlete to be used as a pinch-hitter and even a pinch-runner. Lefty John Tudor (1979-90) was a devastating pitcher when he could stay healthy. He won 117 games with a career winning percentage of .619. He had 10 shutouts in 1985 (one of them a 10-inning 1-0 victory over Doc Gooden in the heat of the pennant race), making him the last pitcher to hit double-digits in shutouts for a season. (In addition to his various arm injuries, Tudor sustained a broken leg in 1987 while trying to break the fall of an opposing catcher who slid into the Cardinals dugout while chasing a foul pop.) Jack Taylor (1898-1907) won 152 games for the Cardinals and Cubs, and in 1902 he led the National League in ERA. Between 1901-06 he threw complete games in 188 consecutive starts. Be a while before anyone tries that again, hey? Jim Tobin (1937-45) went 105-112, mostly for the Pirates and Braves, making this a rare “initial team” with five 100-victory guys in the rotation. In 1944 he pitched two no-hitters, one of them shortened to five innings by darkness in the second game of an afternoon doubleheader. (In another game that same year, Cincinnati’s Clyde Shoun no-hit the Braves. It would have been a perfect game, except Shoun walked Tobin.) His nickname was “Abba Dabba,” for reasons that are probably best left to the memories of those who were there at the time.
Bullpen: Jim Turner (1937-45) won 200 games in the minors, then led the National League in ERA as a 33-year-old rookie. After a few more years as a starter, he had a few good years pitching out of the Yankees’ pen during World War II. He’ll start out as the JT closer. Jay (“They Call Me Mister”) Tibbs (1984-90) had a few good years while bouncing around four teams. Julian Tavarez (1993- ) is a durable swingman with a nasty temper who has the reputation for head-hunting. Jeff (Chewin’) Tabaka (1994-2001) was a solid lefty who changed teams every year. Junior Thompson (1939-47) was a good pitcher whose career was interrupted in his prime by three years in the Navy during World War II. Jack Taylor (1891-99), known as “Brewery Jack” (hmmm … wonder why), was primarily a starting pitcher, but not quite good enough to crack the rotation here, so he will be a long reliever and can fill in when Tudor (or anyone else) gets hurt. John Tsitouris (1957-68) had a few good years.
Bench: Jim Thorpe (1913-19), considered to be one of the greatest athletic specimens of all time, will certainly get some playing time in the outfield, and as part of a promotion, kids will get to race him around the bases during seventh-inning stretch. (Thorpe won the pentathlon and the decathlon at the 1912 Olympics, but was stripped of his medals when it was found out that he had played low-level professional baseball, thus nullifying his amateur status.) Jim Tabor (1938-47) was a decent enough third baseman, but he won’t be playing much here – he can’t match Thome or Torre with the stick, and while we could use a defensive sub at the hot corner, Tabor wasn’t exactly Aurelio Rodriguez with the leather. Utility infielder Jerry Terrell (1973-80) will most likely pick up some of that defensive work at third. Second baseman Jeff Treadway (1987-95) was a good contact hitter who could bat .300 in a good season. Backup catcher Joe Tipton (1948-54) was a reserve on the Indians championship team in 1948. (He’ll hold down the job unless Jake Taylor’s knees get better.)
Manager: Jim Tracy had some success with the Dodgers. He can’t really be blamed for failing to win in Pittsburgh, but he did a heck of a job after taking over the Rockies at midseason in 2009. He’ll be assisted by Jeff Torborg. (The managerial job was offered to Torre, but he said he’d rather just play at this point. Tinker was a little bit pissed off that it didn’t get offered to him.)
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